The Everyday Hunter

If you want a bear, go to P.R. Guides in New Brunswick. Pierre and Ron really know what they're doing. They have almost 50 bait sites and all of them have several bears coming to them. They hunt the Bathurst region and their camp has great accommodations.

The hunt began on Monday and the forecast was for severe  thunderstorms on Tuesday and Wednesday, so everyone was motivated to shoot on Monday. Late on Wednesday afternoon, when the storm died down, we refreshed some of the bait sites and discovered fallen trees as large as a foot in diameter. (See photo at right.) I took my bear with my brother's .30-30 (a Marlin 336 clone), firing 170-grain Federal Fusion bullets, scoped with an Alpen Apex 3-9 X 42mm. 

Pierre and Ron at P.R. Guides also offer a great moose hunt. 

After the long winter I got out for a little fishing today. Pete Alex, a fishing guide on Lake Erie, took me to his honey hole for Steelhead. This Lake Erie tributary is full of fish, and we got our share -- landing at least 25, maybe 30 good fish.

As we approached the stream, Pete said “Look down there. That’s why I call this ‘Little Alaska'.” I followed his finger and asked, “What am I looking for? A moose?” Then I saw the fish, so many of them I’d be able to walk across the stream on their backs if they’d hold still. “Wow!”

Pete also runs a charter on Lake Erie. I’ve fished with him there, too, and he is a hard working charter captain. Whether you’re looking for walleye, smallmouth, or steelhead, Pete is the guy to call. He’s a reliable, highly professional, very knowledgeable fishing guide who knows Lake Erie as well as anyone.

To win as much as he does in the many tournaments he fishes in, he needs to know what he’s doing. And he knows every trick. If he’s not catching fish, they can’t be caught.

His charter is called Vision Quest Sport Fishing, and you can find him online at www.DreamSteelie.com. For the best fishing on Lake Erie, give him a call at 814-725-0694.

I'm not sure, but on April Fool’s Day I think I became a fool for fishing. One thing is sure --  I learned that I ought to do more of it.

After deer season I placed a trail camera in front of a ribcage to see what critters it might attract. I was mostly interested in seeing if I could get some photos of the bobcat again. Ii got many pictures of crows, bluejays, a female cardinal and a couple of deer, and then a photo of a redtail hawk. This big raptor came only one time, but stayed for an hour. The camera was set to take shots in bursts of three, and to fire once every minute. He appeared to take a bite, then sit up and watch for danger.

The second photo was a coyote. I got 9 photos of him over the course of three or four days, all during the night. 

Next was a big raccoon. He spent a lot of time there. Notice the photo at the left. The flash caught the eyes of something in the brush looking at the raccoon, which has his back to whatever the animal is.The eyes appear to be set wide apart, so it can't be a small animal. Maybe it's the coyote. 

Then came a skunk, followed a couple of days later by the bobcat. The bobcat didn't seem to pay any attention to the deer bones. Finally, on January 29, a red fox showed up.The meat is pretty much gone from the bones now.

As I was closing out the PA rifle season on Saturday, sitting in a ground blind I had in a patch of thornbrush, I saw something I couldn't identify at about 4:30. It wasn't a deer, and at first I wondered if it might be a coyote. I couldn't quite make it out through my binoculars, but there was also a rabbit nearby and it looked like it was setting up for an attack. I saw a sudden move and the rabbit run away to the left. Then this animal walked away, more cat-like than coyote-like.

I was about 25 yards from a trail camera I hadn't checked since opening day. So, at quitting time I pulled the memory card in the camera (which was about 50 yards away from the animal). Here's what I found. I've seen bobcat tracks in the area, and on December 1 it captured the image of a bobcat. (RIGHT CLICK to enlarge.)

I saw three deer in New York this year, eight in Warren County (all on Wednesday, 12/2), and five in Greene County (12/7-8), a total of 16 deer. I killed a buck in New York and two does (Warren and Greene Counties.)

Before sitting in the ground blind for the last two hours, I walked a long way and saw nothing more than a few tracks. 

My friend Frank Semple and I (Frank attends the church that I serve) put in for antlerless tags down in Pennsylvania WMU 2A, and hunted there Monday and Tuesday. On Monday I saw 3 deer, all bucks. I couldn't put enough points on any of them. The third one was actually the first one I saw. He was poking around in the brush about 100 yards away as I sat in a shanty. About the time I lost sight of him, two other bucks popped out on the right-of-way I was on. One was smallish, and the other larger. I'm pretty sure both had G2 and G3 tines, but I couldn't see well enough between their ears to know if they had brow tines (it was a 4-point AR area), and they didn't stick around long. About 20 minutes I picked up a view of the first buck, slowly making his way toward me. He was about 13 inches wide, with a fork on the right and a smooth antler on the left -- a big 3-point. The other two were definitely bigger, and I'd bet one of them was legal, but I couldn't be sure enough to shoot. 

On Tuesday, 12/8, I shot a doe on our third drive of the morning. John and Bob (Frank's brothers), were doing the pushing for Frank and me. Two deer came through, and turned to head toward the road. I bleated with my voice to stop them. The other was darker and bigger, very likely also a doe, but I didn't get a good enough look at its head to be sure it was bald. Rather than take the chance of shooting a small buck, I pulled the trigger on this one -- a 50-60 yard shot down in the goldenrod. 

I still have a buck tag for Pennsylvania and an antlerless tag for New York's unit 9J, but with the PA season ending Saturday and the NY season ending Sunday, I probably won't get the chance to fill them. The weather has taken a turn for the worse. With that, and other obligations I have,  it looks like I may not get out until Saturday.

Mark McInturff shot two dandy bucks in Ohio in the past two years, both from the same stand on the same day, November 14. Deer & Deer Hunting has made his 2009 buck the "Deer of the Day" for today, December 7. Check out the forums at D&DH.  

Both bucks have 10 good points. Last year's buck had a net B&C score of just over 140 B&C, enough for the Ohio Big Buck Club if my measurement holds up. This year's buck is definitely wider, and maybe had more mass, but perhaps less beam length. The smile says it all! Way to go, Mark! Where do you think you'll be next year on November 14?

I was "best man" in Mark's wedding many years ago, but it looks like Mark is the better man when it comes to big whitetails!

Today was day three of the PA season and I hadn't seen any deer in PA yet. I'd been hunting a patch of thornbrush for the past two days, but today I decided to get out of it. I walked about a mile down the valley to a spot where I have a treestand. I had it standing on a piece of 2x4 so it wouldn't sink into the ground, and someone had knocked it out so I put it back and tightened up the straps. There was a hunter about 120 yards away, so I walked over to him. It was Dustin, a young man I have known for years. As we talked, he spotted some deer on a very steep and high (maybe 200 feet) bank behind me. As they worked toward a less steep spot and descended the bank, I got ready for a shot. There were about 8 deer, all does. Since Dustin didn't have a doe tag, I would take the shot. I picked out a big one. When I got her home she weighed 115 pounds field dressed. The rifle on the ground at the right is Dustin's .30-30. 

 She had run about 40 yards, and ended up with her head in the creek. I had taken her high through both lungs, so she was a goner at that point. This picture shows her before I touched her. At least she didn't die thirsty!

The picture on the right shows the creek and the high bank the deer came down. The section they came down isn't shown in the photo. Dustin is taking the photo -- it was to his extreme right, higher and steeper than the section that is shown. Dustin had to leave for a funeral, but I was ropeless and he loaned me his drag rope. 

 One more thing. The creek flooded last summer, and at left is a photo of a Tonka truck that got washed down from somewhere upstream. The dead-on-its-feet deer ran by it with blood leaking out both sides, and sprayed blood on the toy.

New York shotgun season opened today. At 7:25 AM I took this 8-point as he chased a doe. Before it was fully light, I heard him grunt twice on the bench below me -- where the treestand I was planning on climbing was. I could also  hear sticks breaking. I bleated back on the Woods Wise Super Hot Ma-Mah deer call, but no response. At about 7:20, I heard him grunt again, so I bleated again. A few minutes later a doe came rocketing up the hill, with this buck in hot pursuit, and then he turned toward me. I bleated again, this time with my voice, making it as sharp as I could since I wanted him to hear me above the noise they were making, and stop for a shot. It worked. She stopped -- he did too, about 50 yards directly below me. I liberated his heart from its aorta, and he ran about 60 yards and died. The Super Hot Ma-Mah works and Lightfield Lite shotgun shells give deep penetration and plenty of knockdown power. Thanks to my good friend Audrey Stone for handling my camera so well. And for being my "guide" on this hunt. I shot this buck near her archery stand. Audrey, by the way, is a world-class archer who shoots Bow-Tech bows. 

Archery season is over, and I pulled my trail cameras today, brought in my climbing stand, and took down my ground blind. Here are a couple of pictures that were on the camera near the dry pond. On the left is a small bear, and on the right is the same 8-point that is in the October 20 post. At least one other archery hunter has been in the area (I got his picture several times, though never a view of his face). It appears he has had no better luck than I have had.

Want to see the difference between a fox and a coyote? He are two trail camera photos taken early in the morning and late in the evening on the same day, with a coyote and a red fox in almost the same position relative to the camera. 

Here's a pretty good 7-point. He visited this rub two nights in a row. His neck is getting swollen and his shoulders are as big as his hind quarters. Probably a 3½ year old.

In the picture on the left (taken October 31 just before 1:00 AM, he appears to be rub-urinating (spraying urine on his tarsal glands and rubbing them together. 

This spot has drawn several deer, as it did last year. The picture of the 2½ year old at the licking branch from September 24 is also in this spot, but the camera is taking the picture from the other direction.

I spent most of yesterday afternoon in the woods with a buddy. He's one of the best hunters I know, and we were looking over the area behind my house. The mast crop looks terrible. No acorns, no beech, no apples, and only a tiny number of grapes. No hickory nuts either. There is a corn field nearby, and only a little deer sign in it. My buddy saw all of this as an indication that most local deer have moved on to look for a place with more groceries. We had a very hard frost here in early June, and it took everything.

I've had a few trail cam pictures of small bucks, but nothing very impressive. The biggest ones are shown below. What's a shooter buck in this area is small for anyone serious about collecting bone.

However, the rut is starting, and the deer should be crazy in a few days.

In October 12 I finally got a photo of a shooter buck. I set the camera up to see if I could get a photo of him crossing the creek. In this picture he is on the near side of  the creek. He has a scrape across the creek that he hits frequently. This buck is probably 3½ and has about 110-115" of antler. He's a pretty good buck for this area, but I'm still betting there is a bigger one around.

Last week on Sept. 17 I freshened my licking branches with Smokey's Preorbital Gland Lure, and about 12  hours later I got this picture of a 2½ year old 8-point buck. He's not yet mature as evidenced by the lack of muscle development in his shoulders, and the small upsweep in the abdominal area, but he has potential.

The third camera had some doe groups visit, but no bucks. I'm doctoring licking branches in front of the cameras with Smokey's Pre-Orbital lure, which should start to draw bucks. Maybe soon -- the cameras have been out for only a week.

Here's a photo sequence from the Slam'n Salm'n Derby (June 21) in Anchorage Alaska. At left is the winner of the 2009 Andy Sorensen Sportsmanship Award hoisting his trophy. Andy was my younger brother, and he passed away unexpectedly in March, 2008.) Andy influenced many fishermen while fishing at downtown Anchorage's Ship Creek, Next is Andy's wife congratulating the winner. Then, Andy's boys Eric and Jake with the winner, and with Jim Lavrakas, the man who had the idea for the trophy to honor the memory of Andy, one of the best fishermen in Anchorage. The trophy is on display in Anchorage. Congratulations to Jioji "George" Lino. May he be the next Slam'n Salm'n Derby winner!

I don't find many shed antlers, but I used one of the tips found in an excellent article posted on the Deer & Deer Hunting Site. The article is entitled Shed Hunting: Expert Tips on Where to Look. It was written by the guy who wrote the book on shed antler hunting.

THE BOOK:  "Shed Hunting: A Guide to Finding White-Tailed Deer Antlers" is the first book dedicated entirely to shed hunting. The 160-page book is an in-depth guide that teaches you how to find naturally shed white-tailed deer antlers. The book is written by Joe Shead, a former managing editor of Deer & Deer Hunting magazine and a passionate shed hunter. Joe has found sheds from Alabama to Saskatchewan and draws on his knowledge of whitetails from both behind the desk and in the field to teach you how to find antlers.

The book discusses the fascinating processes of antler growth and shedding. You'll also learn where to look for antlers, which areas contain bucks during late winter and early spring and how to find places with high deer populations that are off-limits to deer hunting. The book also includes information on how to train a dog to find shed antlers, how to deal with competition from other shed hunters and what to do with your sheds, once you've found them.

If you've never found a shed antler but have always wanted to, this book will show you how. If you're a veteran antler seeker, Joe's tips and tricks will help you perfect your craft. Joe Shead's website is http://www.goshedhunting.com/.

I checked my trail cameras (Moultrie D40)  this afternoon (6/19). I was going to pull them, but as soon as I saw last night's photos I decided to leave them for a few more days. A bear walked by one camera, and I got three images:

Note the second photo. Is that blurry black shadow in the lower left corner a second bear? Probably. It doesn't appear in either of the other photos.

These three shots were taken at 8:10, 8:12 and 8:14 last evening. Naturally, I left the camera there, and will try to get out and check it tomorrow afternoon. If he makes another evening appearance I'll set up in a blind I already have there conveniently (left over from the last day of spring gobbler season.)

I've been playing with a spotting scope from Alpen Optics for an article in Ohio Valley Outdoors, lining up a camera for an exercise in "digiscoping." It worked very well on this rabbit in my yard. I also got pictures of two bald eagle hatchlings in a nest near my home, a couple of turkeys about 300 yards away in the fog, and a few more critters.

Pennsylvania's spring gobbler season is over now, and I succeeded at filling one of my two tags. After hunting this old boy on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I got very close on Friday, May 8. He sounded off at 5:25 AM. In a half hour he bellowed more than 50 times. I resisted giving him more than three tree yelps so soft I could hardly hear them, from a homemade scratch box sent to my by a friend of my father-in-law in South Carolina. It proved deadly. He flew down within range, and gave me a 30 yard shot. 

He weighed 20½ pounds, had a 9½" beard and 1" spurs. With that bulge in his cheek, he looked like he had mumps on the right side (shown), or maybe he had a pinch between his cheek and gum. (I didn't check.)

I went fishing in Lake Erie with some guys from Ohio Valley Outdoors magazine, and my friend Jim Brys went along. John Tucholski of J. T. Sport Fishing Charters (http://www.lake-erie-walleye-fishing.com/) knew where the fish were and we hauled in over 130 pounds of walleye.  Jim caught a 29½" Ohio state citation fish. Our box o' fish more than tripled what other charters out of Port Clinton, Ohio took that day. I'm shown holding my biggest (26"), but I also caught a "Fish-Ohio" citation-size (24") sheepshead (also known as freshwater drum).